8th Infantry Division Insignia, Decorations, Medals and Badges Earned and Awarded in World War II.

All the medal information is from "U.S. Army Medals, Badges and Insignia” NOW ON SALE at https://www.amazon.com/U-Army-Medal-B..."U.S.+Army+Medals,+Badges+and+Insignia"&qid=1726262542&s=books&sprefix=u.s.+army+medals,+badges+and+insignia+,stripbooks,66&sr=1-1. Have fun, flip thru the book, click https://medalsofamericapress.com/book.... For replacement medals, ribbons, insignia, shadow boxes and more, shop our on line catalog: https://www.medalsofamerica.com/onlin... To purchase official United States medals, ribbons, badges and insignia plus shadow boxes and more, go to https://www.medalsofamerica.com/ . World War II 8th Infantry Division Activated: 1 July 1940 at Camp Jackson, South Carolina Trained at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in late 1942 Trained at Camp Laguna, Arizona, in 1943 Overseas: 5 December 1943 Campaigns: Normandy Northern France Rhineland Central Europe Days of combat: 266. Distinguished Unit Citations: 5 Awards: Medal of Honor – 3 ; Distinguished Service Cross (United States) – 33 ; Distinguished Service Medal (United States) – 2 ; Silver Star – 768; LM – 12 ; DFC – 2 ; SM – 24; BSM – 2,874; PH – 14,000 plus ; AM – 107. Order of battle Headquarters, 8th Infantry Division 13th Infantry Regiment 28th Infantry Regiment 121st Infantry Regiment Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 8th Infantry Division Artillery 28th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) 43rd Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) 45th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) 56th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) 12th Engineer Combat Battalion 8th Medical Battalion 8th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) Headquarters, Special Troops, 8th Infantry Division Headquarters Company, 8th Infantry Division 708th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company 8th Quartermaster Company 8th Signal Company Military Police Platoon Band 8th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment Casualties Total battle casualties: 13,986[8] Killed in action: 2,532[8] Wounded in action: 10,057[8] Missing in action: 729[8] Prisoner of war: 668[8] Assignments in the European Theater of Operations 30 November 1943: Attached to First Army. 24 December 1943: XV Corps. 1 July 1944: VIII Corps, attached to First Army. 1 August 1944: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. 5 September 1944: VIII Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group. 22 October 1944: VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group. 19 November 1944: V Corps. 18 December 1944: VII Corps. 20 December 1944: Attached, with the entire First Army, to the British 21st Army Group. 22 December 1944: XIX Corps, Ninth Army (attached to British 21st Army Group), 12th Army Group. 3 February 1945: VII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group. 2 April 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps. 26 April 1945: XVIII (Abn) Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group, but attached for operations to the British Second Army in the British 21st Army Group. Medals of Honor Three soldiers of the 8th Division were awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II. Private First Class Ernest Prussman, 13th Infantry Regiment. Prussman took over his squad on 8 September 1944 during the advance on Les Coates [wrong transliteration of Loscoat, near Brest] in Brittany, and disarmed several Germans, including a machine gun crew. Shot by a German rifleman, his dying act was to unleash a hand grenade that killed the man who shot him. His Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously. Private First Class Walter C. Wetzel, 13th Infantry Regiment. As acting squad leader in the regimental Anti-Tank Company, PFC Wetzel defended his platoon's command post from an enemy attack on 3 April 1945. Wetzel threw himself on either 1 or 2 enemy grenades (sources vary) thrown into the C.P. His Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously. Staff Sergeant John W. Minick, Company I, 121st Infantry Regiment. After his battalion was halted by enemy minefields during an advance on 21 November 1944 during the Hurtgen fighting, he led four men through the obstacle, then successfully destroyed an enemy machine gun post that had opened fire on the small party. Moving forward again, he single-handedly engaged an entire company of enemy soldiers, killing 20 men and capturing 20 more. Resuming the advance, he tried to scout through another minefield, but detonated a mine in the attempt. His Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously.